Polarization anomaly of the microwave brightness temperature from ice

Brightness temperatures over sea ice and water surfaces derived from vertically polarized microwave signals are normally higher than the values resulting from horizontally polarized signals. But, according to simple model considerations, this normal relationship can be reversed for three adjacent layers (atmosphere, ice, and water) with different dielectric properties. The validity of this concept is confirmed by measurements near the ice surface. It is found that the polarization anomaly results from the interference of the polarized microwaves from different interfaces.